BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2661 (Bradford) - Energy Commission: Conflicts of Interest
Amended: April 30, 2014 Policy Vote: E&CA 4-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 30, 2014
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2661 moves the conflict of interest provisions
that are applicable to the California Energy Commission (CEC)
from the Public Resources Code into the Political Reform Act
(PRA).
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of approximately $57,000 to the FPPC
(General Fund)
The Fair Political Practices Commission indicates the need for
Attorney I position to promulgate regulations at a cost of
$57,189.
Background: Existing law prohibits members of the Energy
Commission from receiving a substantial portion of income from
specified energy related entities in the two years preceding his
or her appointment to the commission. Additionally, a person is
prohibited while serving as a member of the CEC, and for two
years after being a member of the CEC, from being employed by an
electric utility or by any person who engages in the sale or
manufacture of any major component of any facility.
The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) was established
in 1974 and is responsible for the impartial, effective
administration, and implementation of the Political Reform Act.
Pursuant to the PRA, a public official is prohibited from
making, participating in making, or in any way attempting to use
his or her official position to influence a governmental
decision in which the official has a financial interest.
Violations of the PRA are subject to criminal, civil, and
administrative penalties.
AB 2661 (Bradford)
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Proposed Law: AB 2661 moves the conflict of interest
provisions related to the CEC from the PRC into the PRA. This
bill also revises the limitations on appointments to the CEC if
the appointee received income from a load serving entity in the
two years prior to his or her appointment. Specifically, this
bill provides for all of the following:
1)Moves the following conflict of interest provisions that are
applicable to the CEC from the Public Resources Code to the
PRA, and gives the FPPC, instead of the Attorney General, the
authority to waive these provisions if the interest is not
sufficiently substantial to affect the integrity of services
that the state may expect:
a) Prohibits a person from being a member of the CEC if,
during the two years prior to appointment to the CEC, the
person received any substantial portion of his or her
income directly or indirectly from any electric utility or
engaged in the sale or manufacture of any major component
of any facility.
b) Prohibits members of the CEC from holding any other
elected or appointed public office or position.
c) Prohibits members and employees of the CEC from
maintaining specified relationships with any person who
acts as an attorney, agent, or employee for a person, other
than the state, in connection with a matter in which the
CEC is a party or has a direct and substantial interest.
2)Expands the prohibition described in (1)(a) above, by
additionally prohibiting the appointment of an individual who
received a substantial portion of his or her income directly
or indirectly from any load serving entity, as defined, or
from any person who has received a substantial portion of his
or her income, directly or indirectly, from either generating,
transmitting, or distributing electricity in the state, or the
sale or manufacture of any major component of a facility
located in the state.
3)Repeals the prohibition on a member or employee participating
personally and substantially in his or her official capacity
AB 2661 (Bradford)
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in a proceeding in which any of the following has a direct or
indirect financial interest:
a)The member or employee;
b)The member or employee's spouse or minor child;
c)The member or employee's partner; or,
d)An organization for which the following are true:
i) The organization is not a governmental
organization or an educational or research
institution that qualifies as a nonprofit
organization; and,
ii) The member or employee is serving or has served
as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee
while serving as a member or employee of the CEC or, for
members of the CEC, during the two year period prior to
the member's appointment.
1)Provides that the term "income," for the purposes of the
conflict of interest provisions that are specific to the CEC,
includes the following payments that are not otherwise
considered income for the purposes of the PRA: salary and
reimbursement for expenses or per diem; social security,
disability, or other similar benefit payments received from a
state, local, or federal government agency; and, reimbursement
for travel expenses and per diem received from a nonprofit
entity exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code.
Staff Comments: AB 2661 transfers certain other conflict of
interest rules that are specific to the CEC from the Public
Resources Code into the PRA. By including these restrictions in
the PRA, the FPPC will be primarily responsible for the
enforcement and interpretation of the CEC's conflict rules. In
addition, violations of the CEC's conflict of interest rules
will no longer be subject only to felony penalties. Instead,
violations of these rules will be subject to the same penalties
that apply to other violations of the PRA-misdemeanor criminal
AB 2661 (Bradford)
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penalties, or civil or administrative fines. This bill also
broadens existing restrictions on who can become a member of the
CEC to include former employees of entities that sell or
manufacture any major component of electric transmission lines
and thermal, wind, hydroelectric, and photovoltaic plants.